What gem hath dropp'd, and sparkles o'er his chain?
The tear most sacred, shed for other's pain,
read more

What gem hath dropp'd, and sparkles o'er his chain?
The tear most sacred, shed for other's pain,
That starts at once--bright pure--from Pity's mine,
Already polish'd by the hand divine!

No radiant pearl, which crested Fortune wears,
No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's wars.
Not the read more

No radiant pearl, which crested Fortune wears,
No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's wars.
Not the bright stars which Night's blue arch adorn,
Nor rising suns that gild the vernal morn,
Shine with such lustre as the tear that flows
Down Virtue's manly cheek for others' woes.

When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved read more

When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.

And the tear that is wiped with a little address,
May be follow'd perhaps by a smile.

And the tear that is wiped with a little address,
May be follow'd perhaps by a smile.

Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life read more

Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.

And friends, dear friends,--when it shall be
That this low breath is gone from me,
And gone read more

And friends, dear friends,--when it shall be
That this low breath is gone from me,
And gone my bier ye come to weep,
Let One, most loving of you all,
Say, "Not a tear must o'er her fall;
He giveth His beloved sleep."

Tears are words that are too deep to be spoken...

Tears are words that are too deep to be spoken...

A stoic of the woods,--a man without a tear.

A stoic of the woods,--a man without a tear.

Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.

Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.